Usiku, nitakwenda mtoni kuona kama chura wanarukaruka kando ya maji.

At night, I will go to the river to see if frogs are hopping by the water.

Breakdown of Usiku, nitakwenda mtoni kuona kama chura wanarukaruka kando ya maji.

• mimi: I
• kwenye: at
• kuona: to see
• kwenda: to go
• maji: the water
• kama: if
• mto: the river
• usiku: at night
• chura: the frog
• kando ya: by

Questions & Answers about Usiku, nitakwenda mtoni kuona kama chura wanarukaruka kando ya maji.

What does usiku mean?

Usiku means "night." It indicates the time of day when the action takes place.

How is the future tense formed in nitakwenda, and what does it mean?

Nitakwenda means "I will go." It is formed by combining the first-person subject prefix ni- (I), the future tense marker ta-, and the verb kwenda (to go)—yielding ni-ta-kwenda.

What does mtoni indicate in the sentence?

Mtoni is the locative form of mto (river). The suffix -ni marks it as a location, so mtoni means "at the river."

What is the function of kuona in this sentence?

Kuona is the infinitive form of the verb, meaning "to see." It follows the future tense verb to express the purpose of going to the river.

How is kama used here and what does it mean?

Kama means "if" or "whether." In this sentence, it introduces a subordinate clause that poses a question about whether something is happening (i.e., whether the frogs are jumping).

Why does the noun chura appear in its singular form even though it seems to refer to multiple frogs?

In Swahili, some nouns do not change form between singular and plural. Although chura looks singular, the plural meaning is expressed through verb agreement. The verb wanarukaruka uses the plural prefix wana-, indicating that multiple frogs are being referred to.

How is the verb wanarukaruka constructed, and what does it mean?

Wanarukaruka means "are jumping." It is built using the plural subject prefix wana- (indicating "they") along with the verb root rukaruka (to jump), showing a present or habitual action.

What does the phrase kando ya maji mean?

Kando ya maji means "next to the water" or "beside the water." Here, kando translates as "next to," and ya maji literally means "of water," together describing a location adjacent to water.